Immigration Chapter 15 Section 1 Europeans Flood into

Immigration Chapter 15 Section 1

Europeans Flood into the US • Reasons for coming to America – Opportunity • Plenty of jobs available • Few immigration restrictions – To avoid forced military service in Europe – To avoid religious persecution • Especially Jews living in Poland Russia – To break away from Europe’s class system to a democratic nation • Where there was an opportunity to move up the social ladder

The Atlantic Voyage • Most immigrants booked passage in steerage – Steerage – the most basic and cheapest way to travel on a steamship • After a 14 day journey, the passengers usually got off at Ellis Island – A tiny island in New York Harbor that housed a large 3 story building – Ellis Island served as the processing center for the immigrants arriving in the US

Asian Immigration • B/g in 1900 Asian immigration numbers started to rise • January 1910 – California opened a barracks on Angel Island to accommodate the Asian immigrants – They awaited the results of their immigration hearings in the packed barracks – They were often forced to wait months

Rebirth of Nativism • The wave of immigration led to a resurgence of nativism in Americans – Nativism – extreme dislike for immigrants by native-born people and a desire to limit immigration • Early anti-immigration feelings were forced on the Irish, but now nativism was focused on Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans

No More Immigrants! • Nativists opposed immigration b/c… – They feared the influx of Catholics would swap the mostly Protestant US to mostly Catholicism • Giving the Catholic Church too much power in American gov’t – Labor unions argued that immigrants would work for low wages or accept work as strikebreakers • Undermines the American-born worker

Prejudice Organizations • Two anti-immigrant organizations were formed 1. The American Protective Association • • Founder Henry Bowers hated Catholics and foreigners Committed to stopping immigration 2. The Workingman’s Party of California • • Founder Dennis Kearney an Irish immigrant himself To fight Chinese immigration

Anti-Immigration Movement • 1882 – New federal law – Banned convicts, paupers, and the mentally disabled from immigrating to the US – Placed a. 50 cent head tax on each newcomer • 1882 - Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act – Barred Chinese immigration for 10 years – Prevented the Chinese already in the US from b/c citizens

The Chinese Protest • The Chinese in the US protested that white Americans did not oppose immigration by Italians, Irish, or Germans – Organized letter writing campaigns – Petitioned the president – Filed suit in federal court • The protest by the Chinese did not work • Congress renewed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1892 and made it permanent in 1902 • The Act was not repealed until 1943